MONROE, La. (AP) — The Ouachita Parish Police Jury will soon get 333 acres of property that economic development officials say is prime for development.
The News-Star reported (http://tnsne.ws/1yxWl0d) the Police Jury is expected to take ownership of the land in western Ouachita Parish from the LSU AgCenter when the jury meets Monday.
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The property has been maintained by the AgCenter since 1888 when the parish gave the land to LSU for research purposes. Because of cuts in state funding, the AgCenter began closing the Calhoun Research Station in 2011.
The AgCenter will retain a 60-acre forest stand for research, but the remainder will revert to control by the Police Jury.
Stipulations in the original agreement required the property to be returned to the parish if the AgCenter ceased using it for research.
The station was established in 1888, and, research there has focused on dairy, peaches, watermelon and other crops. In recent years, forestry and wood products were added.
Parish attorney Jay Mitchell said once the land is returned to Ouachita, the Police Jury will work to establish it as a state-certified site for economic development. The goal is to turn the land into an industrial park.
An advisory board will be established with parish, university representatives and members of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership to begin the certification process.
“With that land situated halfway between Louisiana Tech and ULM (University of Louisiana-Monroe) and with their biomedical or pharmacy fields, we think it’s something that might attract more businesses. Our local economic development folks are raving about what a wonderful piece of property this is,” Mitchell said.
North Louisiana Economic Partnership president Scott Martinez said the site has significant potential. His group signed a cooperative agreement with the Police Jury to market the site as a business park.
“It’s a great opportunity for economic development in Ouachita Parish with the way it’s situated close to Interstate 20 and close to our higher education institutions,” Martinez said.
The Police Jury received a Louisiana Economic Development grant for engineering and cost analysis to provide water and sewer services at the site.
The state grant of $84,000 will be supplemented by $25,000 committed by the Police Jury.
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Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com
